2024 Legislative Session
HIV Modernization bill HB: 436
House Rep. Aimee Freeman
LCCH is partnering with Rep. Freeman to Modernize our current HIV Criminal law to be in closer alignment with modern science, and to narrow the definitions of “criminal intent” to stop this law from being able to be used coercively against People Living With HIV.
Learn more about how you can support this bill by attending our monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of the month (link to sign up for email reminders below) or by contacting us directly via email at: cooridnator@lacch.org.
2023 Legislative Session: HR 130 Study Resolution
During the 2023 Legislative Session, LCCH Partnered with
House Reps. Aimee Freeman and Mandy Landry
to launch the HR 130 Task Force
to explore the impacts of HIV criminal law in Louisiana.
In order to better inform our legislature about the real impacts that HIV Criminal law has on People Living With HIV (PLWH) in Louisiana, LCCH held 9 focus groups and 5 community education sessions throughout the state to uplift the collateral damages this law has on people’s lives, even if they never touch a court room.
You can view the Executive Summary of our community research here.
You can view the Full Report of our community research here.
You can view the Task Force Legislative Report for HR 130 here.
HERE ARE THE FACTS:
HIV criminalization laws DON’T work as intended.
Not a single study or peer-reviewed paper asserts HIV criminalization has actually reduced HIV transmission in any jurisdiction where it exists.
HIV criminalization laws DO work against public health.
They punish those who protect their health by being tested for HIV, and privilege those who remain ignorant of their HIV status.
They create mistrust of health professionals, making people who test HIV positive less likely to cooperate with partner notification, treatment adherence and other forms of prevention.
HIV criminalization laws DON’T align with current science.
The risk of HIV transmission has changed drastically since the beginning of the epidemic.
Today, a person on effective HIV treatment (which means having an undetectable viral load) is incapable of transmitting HIV.
Currently, medications are available to be taken that can dramatically reduce a person's chances of transmission of HIV.
The harm of HIV acquisition has also changed dramatically.
A person newly diagnosed and provided with treatment can expect to live a lifespan basically equal to a person who is not living with HIV.
HIV criminalization laws DO increase stigma & discrimination.
Experts agree that HIV stigma is among the biggest obstacles to ending the HIV epidemic.
Laws criminalizing HIV status exacerbate the already overwhelming social stigma that accompanies an HIV diagnosis.
Forced disclosure of one’s HIV-positive status carries significant risks -- including potential intimate partner violence, loss of housing or custody of one’s children, and other forms of discrimination.
These laws most strongly affect communities that are already disenfranchised, who comprise a disproportionate portion of people living with HIV.
HIV criminalization laws DON’T make sense for our justice system.
That's why advocates in Louisiana join more than a dozen states, including Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas, and others, in actively working to change these discriminatory laws.
